I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 233 Sima Zhongda
What is the most important thing in life?
Eating? Sleeping? Having money? Starting a family? Achieving success and fame?

The answers varied widely.

But for people in chaotic times, the most important thing in life is simply to stay alive!

After all, if you die, you'll have nothing left.

Therefore, after Sima Fang returned to his hometown of Wen County due to old age, he lived a secluded life in the alleys, keeping to himself and not arguing with others. Few scholars in Hebei knew of his reputation.

If things continue like this, although they may not become extremely wealthy, they will certainly live a peaceful life.

until……

"What do you mean that General Liu insists that my father and I go to Jingzhou?"

Sima Fang’s eldest son, Sima Lang, questioned loudly, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight!
"We have no prior relationship with Liu Miao, the General of the Cavalry. How could he know my father's name?"

"Then we'll have to wait and see."

Before Sima Lang, he had only heard of unfortunate people being killed by stones falling from the sky.

But I never expected that such a thing could happen to me and my family!
There are countless scholars in the world, yet Liu Miao, a powerful warlord who ruled over millions of people and commanded hundreds of thousands of soldiers, specifically named them and their sons to go to Jingzhou.

Sima Lang initially thought it was just a boring joke someone was playing on him.

When Sima Lang saw that even Yuan Shao's trusted confidant, Pang Ji, had come to pay him a visit in person, his heart skipped a beat!
"It's over!"

Why did my family suddenly suffer such a misfortune?

In his panic, Sima Lang wanted to discuss with his father whether it would be better to flee elsewhere and not go to Jingzhou.

"How can you say such childish things, elder brother?"

When Sima Lang tried to escape, he was stopped by a tall young man with tiger-like eyebrows and eagle-like eyes.

Sima Yi.

Sima Zhongda.

Sima Yi was exasperated by Sima Lang's naive plan: "Now that Pang Ji and the others are blocking the door, where can our whole family run to?"

"Not to mention that Father is already old, how could he possibly outrun Pang Ji's soldiers?"

"Moreover, the entire Hebei region belongs to Yuan Shao. Even if we flee elsewhere, he will capture us. Even if we escape to the Central Plains... I've heard that Cao Cao and Liu Miao have always had a good relationship. I'm afraid we'll end up being handed over to Liu Miao by him, right?"

When the second most powerful lord in the land demands someone from the most powerful lord, and this third most powerful lord is also a close friend of the second most powerful lord... under such circumstances, as long as the person can be found, there is no possibility of escape.

Sima Yi suggested, "Instead of thinking about how to escape, we should ask Pang Ji why Liu Biaoqi wants us to go to Jingzhou."

Sima Lang suddenly realized what was going on and quickly went to ask Pang Ji, but the answer he finally got only made Pang Ji more helpless.

"Liu Biaoqi said... he wanted to discuss academic matters with his father!"

"what???"

Sima Yi was also dumbfounded!

What kind of ridiculous reason is that?

In terms of academic achievements, Jiangdong had Wang Lang and Zhang Zhao; Jingzhou had Song Zhong, Sima Hui, and Pang Degong. Which of these people was not more accomplished than his father, Sima Fang?

Why is Liu Miao now seeking out Sima Fang to discuss academic matters instead of seeking out truly renowned Confucian scholars?

Even Sima Yi became suspicious and went to ask his father, Sima Fang: "Father, did you have something up your sleeve and secretly write something that Liu Miao saw?"

"..."

Sima Fang couldn't say for sure!
Because he loved reading the Book of Han, reciting hundreds of thousands of words! It's hard to say which sentence in it might have been valued by someone else, which is why he has brought about this trouble today.

"Oh~~~"

Even Sima Yi was completely at a loss.

"In that case, we'll have no choice but to make a trip to Jingzhou!"

Sima Fang originally planned to go alone, leaving his servants to manage the family's fields, but Sima Yi dissuaded him.

"The world is not at peace now. There is a possibility of conflict between Lord Yuan and the South at any time. If we leave the land here, we may not be able to return in the future. It would be better to sell the land and houses, completely sever ties, and go to Jingzhou in peace."

Upon hearing this, Sima Fang could only try to find some humor in the situation, saying, "Perhaps Liu Miao really did save us from a war."

The Sima family was a powerful clan in Hanoi. Upon hearing that they were selling off their land, their neighbor Zhou Sheng immediately came to visit them, hoping to take the opportunity to negotiate a lower price and acquire the Sima family's land.

Sima Yi noticed Zhou Sheng's intentions and promptly rejected him, which enraged Zhou Sheng: "Now that you and your son are both on your deathbeds, are you still so greedy for money?"

Sima Yi countered, "Why do you think we are doomed?"

"Nonsense! Liu Miao has always hated the gentry! If you go there, you'll be killed by him sooner or later!"

Unable to obtain the money, Zhou Sheng began to curse Sima Yi: "When you go to Jingzhou, you probably won't even have a chance to offer sacrifices to your ancestors! I only bought your land out of pity for your Sima clan, wanting to offer sacrifices to your ancestors for you! You really don't know what's good for you!"

Sima Yi sneered, "I will personally handle matters such as ancestor worship in the future!"

"What a joke! If you go to Jingzhou now, you probably won't even be able to save your life, and you still want to worship your ancestors?"

Sima Yi: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river."

"My current decline doesn't mean I'll remain in the same state after I go to Jingzhou." "Perhaps one day I'll return home in glory, riding in a two-wheeled carriage with a black canopy!"

Only officials with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain) could ride in the two-wheeled carriage with a black canopy.

Seeing that Sima Yi was now struggling to even save his own life, yet boasting that he would one day become an official with a salary of two thousand piculs of grain, Zhou Sheng sneered, "Fine! I'll wait and see!"

Sima Yi eventually sold the land to someone else at a normal price, and then, escorted by soldiers from Hebei, he was about to cross the river at the ferry to the Central Plains.

At this moment, a person nearby, upon hearing that the group was heading to Jingzhou, immediately greeted them warmly.

Initially, some soldiers tried to stop him, but after he introduced himself, they made way for him.

"My father is Chen Qiu!!!"

Chen Yu's clothes were somewhat dusty from his travels, just like a scholar traveling in ancient times.

Upon meeting Sima Fang, he immediately asked curiously, "I heard that Zhongshan personally invited you to Jingzhou to discuss academic matters?"

"Indeed."

Sima Fang looked at Chen Yu with awe: "Your father, could he be the aloof and unyielding Chen Qiu, one of the Three Dukes?"

"Exactly!"

Despite being treated like a doormat by Liu Miao, Chen Yu actually lived a very comfortable life outside thanks to his father Chen Qiu's status!

For example, right now, as soon as Sima Fang heard that Chen Yu was Chen Qiu's son, he immediately treated Chen Yu with courtesy and bowed deeply.

"No need to be polite!"

Chen Yu said to Sima Fang with great interest, "I left Jiangdong for some reasons and traveled all over the world to seek out great scholars and discuss learning with them."

"This trip has truly been very fruitful!"

"I met Zheng Xuan of Beihai, Cui Yan of Qinghe, as well as Kong Rong, Chen Lin, Bing Yuan, Ying Chang, Shen Tu Pan, Chen Ji... I can only say that their great reputations are well-deserved! A day of conversation with them is equivalent to ten years of my own study!"

Sima Fang trembled completely upon hearing these resounding names.

If you pick any one of them out, wouldn't their knowledge be more profound than Sima Fang's?
Zheng Xuan, in particular, was renowned as "the most famous scholar in China and the master of Confucianism"!

Compared to these people, what qualifications did Sima Fang have to discuss academic matters with Liu Miao?

Chen Yu also came specifically after hearing that Liu Miao had sent someone to invite Sima Lang to Jingzhou to discuss academic matters.

He asked curiously, "For Zhongshan to come here personally to seek your guidance, your knowledge must be quite profound, right?"

Sima Fang forced a smile and said, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..."

Which of those famous scholars and Confucian masters that Chen Yu just mentioned wasn't a game-changer for Sima Fang?
In front of these people, how could Sima Fang dare to claim that his knowledge was profound?
Chen Yu shook his head: "If we're talking about familiarity and understanding of Zhongshan, if I claim to be second, then I'm afraid no one in the world can claim to be first!"

"His special invitation to you to Jingzhou proves that your talent is unparalleled in the world!"

Sima Fang was so frightened that his hands trembled slightly. It was Sima Yi who, seeing his father so frightened, took pity on him and spoke to Chen Yu: "May I ask what brings you to visit so many famous scholars?"

"Naturally, it's to seek answers for Zhongshan in this era!"

After Chen Yu went out, his energy and spirit were noticeably improved. He really seemed like a great Confucian scholar protected by a righteous spirit!
"The world is in chaos now, the people are displaced, and scholars have no faith to entrust their hearts to. I am going there for this very reason!"

When Sima Yi heard that Chen Yu was going to do such a big thing, his eyes lit up: "Now that you are going back to Jingzhou to see Liu Biaoqi, does that mean you have found the answer to this matter?"

The collapse of the literati's faith had already begun after Wang Mang's failed attempt to usurp the Han throne.

The apocryphal texts and commentaries of the Later Han Dynasty, which lasted for two hundred years, were merely patched up.

However, with the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the benevolence and morality that had been patched up for two hundred years finally exploded in an extremely tragic way.

Even with great Confucian scholars like Zheng Xuan, Lu Zhi, and Wang Lang constantly trying to remedy the situation, they still couldn't find a common denominator that all scholars in the world could believe in.

Now that he heard that Chen Yu was going to do such a big thing, even Sima Yi was excited and asked Chen Yu for the answer.

"It wasn't originally."

Chen Yu did not hide this from Sima Yi, a young man in the prime of his life.

"But after Zhongshan made a three-point agreement with the people by the Han River, I understood!"

Sima Yi, curious, pressed further: "What have you understood, sir?"

"Hey."

Chen Yu asked Sima Yi, "Do you know where Zhongshan's saying 'land to the tiller' originally came from?"

"It seems to be from Mencius."

"Yes!"

Chen Yu smiled and said, "Although the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were chaotic, they were also a golden age when countless schools of thought contended with each other!"

"Isn't this moment just like that moment back then?"

“We cannot find the answers in classical studies, but Zhongshan was able to find a way out in the teachings of the pre-Qin philosophers. Doesn’t that prove it?”

"To revive the various schools of thought and encourage open debate among a hundred schools of thought—this is the right path!"

(End of this chapter)